


The Matchmaker

by MinaWalker



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angry Sex, Angst, Attempted Murder, Drama, Dungeon, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Falling In Love, Forced Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Love/Hate, Multi, Murder, Other, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sad, Serial Killers, Unsub | Unknown Subject
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-10-09 01:01:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10400244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinaWalker/pseuds/MinaWalker
Summary: Spencer was on his way to visit his mother in her new treatment facility, but something went wrong. When he woke up he was in a dark dungeon. What awaited him was his worst nightmare. He would have to do the unthinkable to survive.





	1. The Beast

Spencer groaned and attempted to open his eyes. Everything was blurry and dim. He pushed himself up with one hand off the floor and got up to one knee when a fiery fist came straight for his mouth. His face instantly jerked to the right and the taste of copper filled his tongue. He whimpered. He felt his lip bust open before losing his footing and falling down on his side again. His head, a mess of confusion and pain was now resting on cold pavement. 

“I said stay down boy!” A voice yelled at him. 

He could hear frantic crying nearby. A baby. No...a woman? 

Just then an intense shooting pain got him in the neck and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. 

“Grab his legs” the voice commanded another. 

*****  
“Do you have any food?” 

He opened his eyes. 

“Do you have any food?” The womans voice asked again. 

It was coming from in front of him. Yes. There was a woman in front of him. But not directly. Behind bars. Prison bars. Two sets of them. 

Spencer Reid rose to his feet quickly, stumbling and almost passing out in the process. 

Where the hell was he?

“Do you have any food?” She asked again. 

It was dim where they were. Only two very small windows, high up, let any light in. The place was filthy. It was….a dungeon. What the fuck was he doing in a dungeon? 

The last thing he remembered was getting gas at the Shell station. He was driving up to see him mom at her new treatment facility. Mom. Oh god, she’s going to be so worried, he thought to himself. 

Spencer assessed every last detail. There were bars all in front of him.To the sides and back there was thick stone. A small toilet was in the corner with what looked like a cheap plastic privacy screen, old and dilapidated. It must have been used quite a bit. The thought sent shivers down his spine. 

He tried to look further out. It looked like there was 5 more cells just like his. 

“Do you have any food?” He heard again. 

“He doesn’t have any FUCKING food, stop asking” a voice coming from the neighboring cell shouted. 

Spencer licked his lips. His throat was dry, a symptom of the drugs he had been injected with. 

“What’s- what’s happening? Why are we all here?” He asked out loud.

The thin blonde woman in the cell across from his looked down, refusing to make eye contact.

“We’re here to learn a lesson” Somebody finally said. But it wasn’t his neighbor, it must have been somebody in a different cell. 

Just then the main door to the room opened and in walked a man. He recognized him. He worked at the gas station he went into earlier. Blue overalls, red hat. He stood about 6’5 and 300 lbs. 

Spencer dared not speak. In fact there was a chilling silence throughout the entire room. They were afraid. You could almost taste the fear in the air. 

“Gimme yer hands darlin” The man commanded. 

The frail woman in front of him cried and shook her head.

“You gonna make me come in thur and get ya?” He asked her, growing agitated. 

She got up and put her hands through the slot, he cuffed her and opened her cell, letting her out. 

Spencer watched as he took her out of the room. He listened as he heard a blood curdling scream come seconds later somewhere down the hall. And then it was quiet again. 

*****

“Do it” The Beast commanded. It had now been established what the other prisoners had dubbed him. Beast. It was fitting. 

“I ..I can’t” Spencer quietly let out. 

“Do. It.” The Beast said again in a low voice. 

“I can’t.” Spencer said louder. His voice shook. He had tears in his eyes and his chest must have a weighed a ton. 

The Beast grabbed onto the girls arm and brought a stun gun up to her ribs and fired it up. She screamed and fell to the floor, shaking. 

Spencer looked on, horrified. His hair falling on his face as tears started to stream down.

The beast looked up at him.

“You need to teach 'em. They need to be obedient.” He said as he aimed the the stun gun at her spine, causing her to arch her back as the volts went through her. She screamed in pain and sobbed. 

After a few seconds the beast made her stand up.

“Do it” he said one more time.

Spencer’s voice shook and tears ran down his face. “I’m sorry” he whispered before slapping the girl across the face. 

“That wasn’t nuthin. Now you do it right and make her learn or i’m gonna use this on her again and then you, you got that boy??”

Spencer tightened his eyes closed for a second. He swallowed hard and looked at her, before taking a deep breath in and raising his fist and meeting the side of her face with it. She fell to the floor with a cry. 

“Now tell ‘er” The Beast said. 

“You do what I say, you bitch. I’m your master” Spencer recited with a shaky voice. 

“And now what do you say” The Beast asked the girl crumpled on the floor.

She looked up at Spencer naked, vulnerable and covered in tears and replied “Yes sir”.

The Beast was satisfied for now. They would do.


	2. Beast Minister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *noncon warning * Don't read further if that's not your thang.

Spencer Reid had been missing for a week. The team at the BAU knew he was on his way to visit his mother in South Pennsylvania. They knew roughly what route he was taking...but they also knew there was a serial killer out there. An unsub throwing deceased couples in the park. Six so far. All of them bound together at the wrist with twine, wearing cheap marital rings. Most of the women had recently given birth. He was dubbed “The Matchmaker” by the media.

They soon found out that these couples weren’t real couples. Some of them had already been married when they disappeared. Some of them were in relationships and others single according to all of their friends and family. Two of them were gay. All of them had been missing for years. 

****

He was lead to another room by a long stick with a loop around his neck. Like the kind they use for stray dogs. That’s what he felt like. A trapped dog. He could hear the jangling keys on the Beasts waist band. The sound of freedom he could never quite find the way to acquire.

He got to the room and was taken off his leash and uncuffed. The Beast with a taser at the ready. “No funny business” he always warned. Spencer had not heeded that warning once before and was subjected to the cruelty of the Beasts toy. It made him feel that much worse for subjecting the new girl to it just days earlier. 

The Beast pointed to the wall.

“Put that there on and wait. I’ll be back.”

Spencer looked at the wall. Hanging on a spike was an old men’s suit. The prisoners were only allowed to wear their undergarments in their cells so it was easy putting it on. The Beast was paranoid about them making weapons and hiding them on their person or in their cells so they were regularly searched. 

He stood nervously waiting. Why a suit?

*****  
Leta put the dress on quickly. Finally something to wear. She hated only being able to wear her underpants in her cell. Her body hurt from the beating she had gotten three days earlier. Her face still a black and blue mess. 

The Beast walked back in.

“Come ‘ere” He commanded, lifting up the taser “We aint gonna have a problem are we?”

Leta’s shook her head and looked at the floor like he had taught them. Women were to be submissive. 

*****  
When she walked into the chamber it was painfully obvious what was going on and what was about to happen.  
Spencer looked at Leta with sadness in his eyes. She was covered in bruises and it was all his fault. She looked up for a second, and quickly back down. Fuck. 

“Stand next to each other.” They obeyed.

“Alright. Now. This is a momentous occasion for you two. This is the binding of ones soul with another. And don’t worry, I’m a minister. Well I was for several years before those goddamn homos thought they could....” The Beast clenched his teeth then relaxed “This is a momentous occasion for you two. Marriage is the most blessed of sacraments. The merging of one MAN and one WOMAN is a great privilege in the eyes of our Lord and Savior. 

Spencer and Leta looked at each other, mouths open. Were they seriously about to get married? By a REAL minister? Oh god, thought Spencer. He knew exactly who this was now. He knew who this sick twisted fuck was and what he was going to do to them. He was the Matchmaker unsub they had been following for a few years. His last disposal had been about 6 months before. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Just play along, he told himself. The Team is probably already on his track.

****  
The entire “wedding” was a huge rant from the Beast Minister about the sanctity of marriage and homosexuals. Leta, an outspoken supporter of gay rights, clenched her teeth at all his talk. Spencer, had a small smile and nodded at the Beasts ranting.

It finally came to it. 

“Do you Ms. Leta, take Mr. Spencer to have and to hold, through sickness and health til death do you part?

Tears filled her eyes and she let out a small “I do” before he continued on with Spencer.

“And do you Mr. Spencer take Ms. Leta to have and to hold, through sickness and health til death do you part?” 

Spencer cringed at the last part “I do” he agreed. 

He gave them rings to put on each other. 

“Well now that that is over, you can finally move on to the honeymoon portion of the evening” The Beast said.  
*****  
The Beast grabbed a handful of his hair and punched him in the jaw, splitting his previously injured lip again. Spencer let out a small cry. 

“Don’t make me do this!” Spencer cried out trying to scramble to his feet. 

The Beasts steel toed boot met his ribs with a sickening crack. Blood dripped from Spencer’s mouth. Spencer lost his breath and held onto his ribs, rocking on his back. “Please.” he pleaded. He knew it wouldn’t do any good. But he needed to try. He had to say he tried. 

The Beast shoved the pills down his throat and poured water into him as he laid trying to catch his breath on the cold pavement. He put the taser near his neck in case he tried any of that foolishness. 

Spencer coughed. Water and blood dripped out of his mouth. 

“Now you come with me” 

Spencer got up slowly, very slowly, holding onto his side. His hair fell in his face as he hung his head. Tears, snot, blood and bruises was all he was reduced to now. He walked in front of the Beast to the next room where he found a bed in the corner and Leta sat on the mattress. She too was covered in blood and bruises. She must have put up a fight. 

“Now this is what God has put you on this Earth to do. This is what is Holy. The meeting of marital bodies is a unique and wonderful occasion for the purpose of making offspring who will worship in our savior Jesus Christ…” He went on for several minutes reciting scripture at them. 

They were numb. Did he really mean for them to….here?....together?...why was there a camera in the room? And the window in the wall to another room, was he going to be watching? Why??

He finished off with his usual warning and pulled out a gun. Leta gasped, Spencer just stood there, heart racing. 

“If you are useless to the Lord’s command, you are useless to me” he threatened. And with that he left the room. 

*****  
She locked eyes with him and him with her. She quickly looked down like she was taught. 

“I’m sorry” he whispered. 

Tears fell down her face and she looked around for something, anything, anything to stop this. 

“Don’t.” Spencer said, looking at her, knowing full well she meant to do something that would get them both killed. 

She couldn’t believe it. He was just going to do this? He was going to let this happen to her?  
She looked at him “Please don’t do this to me. Not like this.”

“I’m sorry” he said again “He’ll kill us”

“No” She cried.

“Take off your dress” he told her, barely audible. His heart was beating a million miles per second now. He took off his coat and shirt. She looked away, crying. He took off his pants, leaving just his underwear. 

She sat on the bed, staring at the wall. This isn’t happening. I’m a good person. I’m a good daughter and a good student and a good friend. Why me??

Spencer knew they didn’t have a lot of time to get the ball rolling before the Beast came back in and hurt the both of them so he did the only thing he knew to do now. What he had to do to make sure they lived to see another day.

He tried to make sure his voice was loud and smooth. It was hard though, between the drugs and the nerves. But he made do. 

“Take off your dress right NOW” Spencer commanded her. 

She started to sob. 

“NOW” He said, growing impatient. Any minute the Beast would be in there with a gun to their heads. 

She sobbed. 

The full rush of whatever was in that drug tore through him and he grabbed the back of her dress and tore it open. Fake pearl buttons flew onto the floor and rolled away. He pulled the sleeves partially down “TAKE IT OFF” he said once more. 

Through her sobs she screamed “ok! Ok!” as she took the 2 sizes too big dress off of her body and threw it at the foot of the bed. 

“The rest…” Spencer started. She knew what he meant. 

She looked at the ceiling, while the tears continued to fall down her face. She unhooked her bra and slid it down her arms, throwing it to the side. He got on the bed and pulled his underwear down. 

“Lay down” he told her in a small voice, wanting to disappear. 

She laid in the middle of the bed. 

“You need to take your panties off” He reminded her. 

“Please” She pleaded. 

They didn’t have time for this shit. He could practically hear the Beast opening their door.

In one swoop he grabbed either side of her panties and pulled them off her with all his might, tearing one side almost clean off. She let out a small scream mixed with her sobbing. He felt horrible but also….really good. These drugs….they made him feel good. 

He looked at her laying in front of him, fully exposed and he was hard in a fraction of a second. A symptom of the drugs, no doubt. This was it, he had to do it. She was so pretty and delicate. Her creamy skin was flawless and her breasts perfect and pert. He got on top of her as she turned her head to the side and stared at the wall, wishing to be anywhere in the world but here. 

“I need you to open your legs. Please” Spencer asked her. She didn’t respond. He knew it would take some muscle to do it himself. He remembered reading about women often using their thigh muscles to subdue their attackers in self defense moves. It’s the strongest muscles they have. He grabbed both knees and moved them apart very carefully, they were stiff at first and then she let go quite easily. He positioned himself accordingly. 

“Please” She pleaded one last time “Don’t do this” her voice cracked. 

“I’m sorry” He said once more and she let out a sob. “I have to”

“Ok ok ok...please just...just” She tried speaking through her crying “Just go slow please. I’m -I’m a virgin”.

He looked at her, trying to see if she was being truthful. It seemed she was. She looked terrified. 

“Ok” He whispered. And then he did it. He put himself into her. Slowly at first. Just the beginning. And then slowly inched his way in further and further, gently. Her thighs clasped his sides and she squeezed her eyes shut, losing her breath. Her hands clawed into the mattress. She let out a small “owww” and cried. He couldn’t look at her. He stared at the head of the bed, holding himself up by the palm of his hands on either side of her. The problem here was that Spencer had had sex before. And it wasn’t going to end in just a few seconds with some slow moves. He picked up the pace after a minute. This needed to be over. She felt...amazing though. And he felt horrible for thinking that. She let out small whimpers every now and then but mostly tried to stay quiet. He couldn’t help himself, he moved a little harder and faster.

Just then a voice came out over an intercom. 

“Married couples look at each other when they make love.It’s all about God’s love and the love they have for each other.”

That sick fuck. Spencer looked down at Leta but she still had her eyes tightly closed. 

“Open your eyes”

She wouldn’t.

He had to do it. He had to use that card. “You obey me. Open your eyes NOW”

She opened them slowly and turned her head toward him and stared at him. Sorrow and disgust and tears in her eyes, she stared at him. He continued to penetrate her. They stared at each other as he picked up the pace and she tried to be as quiet as possible. 

“Married women touch their husbands. They are to be worshipped” the intercom said again.

She reluctantly brought her arms around him. He brought his elbows down and was now closer to her. They stayed staring at each other as he pumped back and forth over and over. His breathing heavy and hers getting caught in her throat. God this was taking forever, she thought. When will he be done?

“Married couples kiss” the intercom said last.

He kept fucking, then Spencer slowly brought his mouth down to her and kissed her. She opened her mouth and kissed him back softly..once...twice...and that was all he needed. He came inside of her with a deep guttural moan. Pumping a few times slower and slower until he couldn’t hold himself up anymore. He fell to her side and tried to catch his breath. She rolled to her side and brought her knees to her chest and stared at the wall.


	3. 'I hate you'

It had been four days since the wedding. That night they were forced to sleep together in their “marital bed”. She spent the entire night crying. He spent the entire night apologizing quietly. They didn’t sleep a wink. When morning came the Beast took one look at the blood stain on the sheets and grinned ear to ear. He was so proud. He knew he had chosen the correct beings for His purpose. 

*****

She never faced him. In her cell. Leta never faced Spencer despite having cells across from each other. She always turned her back to him now. Since that night.

******

Why couldn’t she see that he didn’t want to do that to her? Why couldn’t she see that he was being forced just as much as she was? He wasn’t a monster he just knew any minute now the Team would bust through and arrest this evil son of a bitch and they could leave. But in the meantime they just had to do what they were told. Spencer had tried so hard to level with the Beast but all he was met with were his fists every time. 

*******

“FUCK!!! Oh god noooooo. Nooooo!!!” Crying rang out in one of the cells. It was the girl in the cell next to Leta’s. The girl with long auburn hair and deep blue eyes. Christa. “Oh god why??? Why???” She continued. 

Her partner in the cell next to Spencer looked to see what was going on. “Fuck” he whispered furiously. 

Christa had gotten her period. There would be a lesson for this. Her body would have to pay for not creating a child. She must have done something to upset God, the Beast would undoubtedly remind her. He would make her partner John dole out her punishment. It had been about 4 months and John was starting to see things the Beasts way now too. He was tired of the Beasts beatings when he couldn’t perform sexually (Sometimes the pill cocktail was in short supply). After all...it was Christa’s fault for not turning him on. Shouldn’t she be the one punished? John’s punishments to her, at first mild and constrained, were now becoming harder and angrier. He wanted to leave here. Why couldn’t Christa just get pregnant like a good little wife?

******

The door opened and Christa was dragged in by the Beast. Covered in blood and unable to walk, the Beast held onto her then threw her in her cell. She fell to the cold pavement with a thud, her head hitting the floor.  
The Beast mumbled something about uselessness and wastefulness as he walked back out.

He came back in with John. A dead look in his eye, knuckles bruised and bloody. He had done what he needed to do. Women needed to learn. Christa had gotten her lesson. 

The Beast placed John back in his cell. As he was walking back towards the door he leaned into Leta’s cell.

“Brighten up, sweetheart. You’ve got a date night with the hubby coming up”

Leta’s stomach turned. Disgusting.

******

The 7th couple had been found recently. The BAU team was getting worried. Spencer had been missing for a couple of weeks now. It seemed the unsub was progressing. This last couple had only been missing for 6 months. This particular woman had never given birth. They believed she was discarded earlier for that very reason. Perhaps she couldn’t conceive.  
There was another disturbing trend in the area as well. Four more gay friendly churches in the state had been set ablaze. They weren’t sure if they were connected but they had their suspicions. 

Garcia couldn’t sleep. All she could think about was her poor Reid. What if he’s cold? Or hungry? Oh god are they feeding him? That skinny boy wonder, he’s much too thin to go without a meal! 

Morgan was angry. How the fuck could this happen to him? Pretty boy? HIS friend?? He was way too smart for this. How could someone do this to Spencer? He couldn’t wait to get his hands on this unsub. They better not hurt a hair on Reid’s head. Spencer was smart. He would know how to psychologically work with the mind of the unsub. Keep believing in us, pretty boy. We’re coming.

JJ tucked in Henry and brushed the hair away from his face.  
“When is Uncle Spencer going to come visit again? I haven’t seen him in a long time” He asked.  
JJ’s eyes welled up  
“Soon, honey. We’ll make sure he comes really soon.” She said as she kissed his forehead and wished him goodnight. As she made her way out of the room she looked up to the heavens. “God please let us find him. We need to find him.”

Prentiss made tea and sat on her sofa chair. In front of her, a board with a giant map of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. There was a tag on every single gas station and fast food joint in the area where he could have gone missing. She stared at it intently.

Hotch sat in his dark office. Are we absolutely sure he’s involved in this whole Matchmaker unsub business? Could it just be a coincidence? He did fit the description of all the men they found. He had told Reid so many times before not to forget to charge his phone. The last ping they got from his phone was only 30 miles outside of his house. He could never understand why Reid hated technology so much. 

******

“Do you want my bread?” Spencer asked her.

She wouldn’t turn to him. He knew she was hungry. They all were, all the time. The Beast only provided 2 meals a day and they were small. She needed to eat. 

“I’ll take it” said his neighbor. Spencer ignored him. 

“Leta? Do you want my bread?” He tried one more time.

After a few seconds she quietly replied “Leave me alone.” And she went back to staring at the wall. Anything was better than looking at him. 

*******

“CLEAN THIS SHIT UP” The Beast yelled angrily. 

“Ok! I’m sorry! Ok!” Leta cried as she scooped up eggs from the floor. She had been so weak, her legs gave out while bringing her husband his dinner that night. They were in the marital room, Spencer was sitting at a table in the corner. They were once again permitted to wear clothing to simulate a real date night. Leta was instructed to cook for her man. All that was on the menu tonight was eggs. The smell made her so hungry and she wondered if she would be allowed to eat as well. 

“You obviously need a LESSON on how to be a good cook and wife. You don’t just drop your husbands food on the floor like some sorta animal!” He continued.

Leta got up,holding the plate, her entire body shaking.

Spencer looked on fearfully. 

The Beast turned to him. “Give her a lesson.” he instructed him.

Spencer looked at him. “I-I-I’m okay with it. I’ll eat it. It was an accident.”

The look on the Beasts face made it known he wasn’t fucking around. He hated when the men challenged him. Tryin’a Alpha on him. HE was the Alpha. These assholes needed to learn how to be a REAL husband, how to be a REAL man of God. He lunged at Spencer, hunting knife in hand. He knocked him off the chair and onto the ground holding the knife up to his throat. 

Spencer stared at him in wild eyed bewilderment. He was going to kill him now wasn’t he? This was it. The Beast slid the knife across Spencer’s neck slowly, just deep enough to leave a trail of blood. But not deep enough to do permanent damage. Spencer sealed his eyes shut and let out a scream through gritted teeth. 

Leta had exactly 1 second to react to it and form her next step. She pushed her hair behind her ears and wiped her face. She let in a deep breath and said “Honey. Dinners ready” in her loudest, proudest voice as she held the plate of floor eggs in one hand like a diner waitress. 

“Would you like to sit down?” She asked, looking at him with a smile. Her eyes telling a different story. 

Spencer looked at her, then back at the Beast. He was just as confused but also had a glimmer of pride in his eyes. The Beast got up and waited for Spencer to sit back on his chair. 

She placed the plate on the table.

“I’m sorry I dropped it. I’ll do better next time.”

Spencer looked up at her, then sat in his chair.

“Thank you. This look great.” He said looking at the plate.

The Beast stood there. He nodded his head. Good. This was better. But she needed to do better at making it up to him. 

He waited until Spencer was done eating. Leta watched him eat, pure jealousy running through her veins. Hot food was unheard of around here. 

He swallowed his last bite and wiped his mouth with a napkin. 

“That wadn’t so hard, was it,you two?” He asked. 

“No sir” They replied in unison.

“Since you nearly ruined your husbands dinner, you gotta make that up to him.” The Beast said.

Leta’s heart sank.

“Now you stay sittin’ there. Leta go to your mate and beg for forgiveness”

Leta went up to Spencer “Please please forgive me. I’m so sorry” She said, staring at the floor. 

“On your knees” The Beast instructed her.

She got on her knees in front of Spencer and repeated herself.

“Now you can’t rightly beg for forgiveness from your master with his pants still zipped, now can you?” The Beast asked ominously. 

Leta froze. She knew what he was asking her to do. She heard Spencer open his mouth in objection, but then quickly shut it. 

“Now i know you don’t need those pills do you? Look how good your wife is being” He said to Spencer. “Now i don't want you two wasting that seed. You give him a few minutes then you get on that marital bed and do as God intended” He warned as he left the room. No doubt going to the other side of the window to watch. 

Leta breathed heavy. 

“I’m sorry” Spencer whispered. 

Leta looked up at his face of her own volition for the first time. 

“I hate you” She whispered, the weight of her words showing on her face.

Leta unzipped his pants.


	4. Thin blue sheet

The last glimmer of hope left her eyes. The light...gone. All the good grades, useless. All of the volunteer jobs, useless. Making sure to always follow the rules...Never speaking ill of anyone… Always coming home on time… Being kind to every soul...helping old ladies cross the street...Always doing the right fucking thing. Useless. It had gotten her here. What was the point of always doing the right thing when it was going to land her here? No one was here to help her when she needed it.

She laid in her cot, facing the wall. It was so dim in there. She ran her tongue along her teeth. They were so smooth. She must have rinsed out her mouth 20 times since 2 night ago. She could still taste him on her tongue. They were allowed a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. She had to ration her toothpaste so she took to using just the toothbrush to scrape her mouth over and over. He knew why she was doing it and felt embarrassed all the same.

They were allowed one cold shower a week. They had 4 minutes to undress, bathe as best they could, dry themselves and put their clothes back on. The Beast used a timer and held a gun on them the entire time. It was the most humiliating thing Leta had ever experienced. After every shower the Beast would repeat “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. So why the fuck couldn’t you bring us real soap instead of this cheap motel bar soap, Leta would say in her head. 

She was actually looking forward to shower day this week. She needed to wash him off her body. His semen would slowly come out of her at night when she would shift in her sleep. She would wake up and find a small puddle of it on her thigh or feel it dripping to the back of her. Not all at once. The second she would get up, more would come out, falling down her thighs and running past her knees. By the second day it was so sticky, even when she wiped it off quickly. This past time was different though. There was more of it. His climax was more intense. Probably because she went down on him before. He must have loved that, she thought bitterly. It didn’t take him long after entering her to cum. He looked like he couldn’t hold it in much longer. He had climaxed loudly and ferociously. He lingered inside her for far longer than she thought necessary. Then the past two days was a non stop fountain of his cum. Everywhere. In her panties. Down her leg. On her cot. Disgusting. She didn’t want Spencer’s fluids on her. 

******

Like i give a shit what you think, she thought. 

“...and your hair smells weird” He said.

“Better than that son. This little lady don’t respect you.”

Spencer gulped. “You’re fat”

“Be specific son. She needs to know her faults so she can work on them.”

Yeah and my nail beds suck, Leta thought in her head as she looked down, taking the verbal blows. This was another of the Beasts tactics. Breaking the women down so they knew their place. Crushing any thoughts they had of bodily autonomy or sense of self. John was really good at it. Christa was almost completely catatonic by now. There was nothing behind her eyes. She had lost 100% of hope. 

“You...you have fat thighs. They move too much when you walk”

She pursed her lips. Her thighs had always been a sore spot for her. They weren’t fat, anyone would tell you. They’re...shapely. Leta understood what they were saying but it all came down just the same. She devoted many a home pilates videos to them anyhow. They were smooth and fit her body, but still thicker than some girls.

The Beast sensed the pain it gave her and gave a smirk, nodding in Reid’s direction. He was doing just fine. Keep going. 

He was given an ounce of approval from The Beast and it felt like a million dollars. A rush of dopamine flooded his body. He liked it. He knew he would be treated slightly better for the rest of the day because of it. Maybe extra food on his plate? Maybe no beating? Maybe a pillow? John got a pillow once. It was the same week Christa didn’t wake up for 2 days after being thrown back in her cell. And before he could get his feelings in check and think clearer he opened his mouth...

“I hate looking at your ugly face” He let out. “Your cooking is horrible.”

The Beast smiled gleefully. “You continue, son. I’ll be back.”

The Beast left the marital room, still listening as Spencer Reid doled out verbal punishments to his wife. She was a quiet one, but sometimes those are the ones with big thoughts and we can’t have those, he thought. 

“You’re useless. I’m glad you never look at me, I couldn’t stand having to look at you” he continued, the serotonin and dopamine quickly leaving his body as pangs of guilt started to come through. 

She had had enough. This had been going on for 20 minutes. She had never really stood up for herself before. She always made excuses if people were rude to her. Maybe they’re grumpy and need a nap. Maybe they’re just hungry. Usually people were quite pleasant around her. Who was THIS person to talk shit to her. She couldn’t stand his voice. All of the mean things he said to her suddenly came to a head and her blood boiled. 

“I hate the way you look when you cry-” Spencer continued with his duty

“I hate your fucking hair” She said out loud. “I bet nobody gives a shit about you” She continued, getting louder. “I BET YOUR FUCKING MOTHER WOULD RATHER KILL HERSELF THAN HAVE TO EVER LOOK AT YOUR EVIL PIECE OF SHIT FACE AGAIN!!!!” She screamed. 

She didn’t even know she was flying. Not until the back of her head had hit the wall. His hands tightly around her neck and his face mere millimeters away from hers. He was completely red and his eyes bulged out of their sockets. His mouth, showing all of his teeth as he hissed “Don’t you EVER fucking say anything about my mother again. Do you fucking understand me??” He asked as he tightened his grip around her neck. She grabbed at his hands, unable to catch a breath, the veins on her forehead coming out. 

Just then the Beast walked in and looked at the two. Spencer slowly let go of her neck as she collapsed to the ground, throwing a coughing fit. His breathing was labored.

“I saw that. That was well done. You really showed 'er who’s boss ‘round here. Now take these here pills and show her what happens if she ever tries that again.” He instructed Spencer. 

Spencer grabbed the pills from the Beasts hands and took it, opening his mouth afterwards to prove to the Beast he had taken it. 

The Beast left the room again. 

Spencer’s heart raced. He stared at Leta on the floor. He wanted to hurt her. How dare she bring his mother into this. The drugs didn’t take long to start working. His pupils dilated and he could feel his heart through his chest. 

She looked up at him. She had never seen him like this. He looked like John did when he was angry. She shivered and opened her mouth to apologize but couldn’t. Why should she? He was going to do this to her anyway. Fuck him. 

Spencer grabbed her arm and quickly walked her to the bed. 

He was rougher that night than ever before. Angry. She matched his anger as she stared back at her husband as he violated her over and over. Her hands around his sweating body. Their eyes spitting fire at each other. She didn’t make a noise the entire time. Not even when he turned her around.

She heard him cry late that night. Quietly. Quiet sobbing as he cradled himself. She had no sympathy for him. He was a monster.

*******  
He tried to figure out ways to kill himself. He couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t stand the person he was turning into. He was lost and exhausted. Spencer had always been the brains. He could outsmart any bad guy. So why was it that this man, this BEAST, had outsmarted him? He made him do those things. He allowed the Beast to manipulate him into treating an innocent woman this way. How could this religious idiot have psychologically destroyed him enough to inflict that sort of pain on someone? The mixture of drugs had felt so good, especially here. To feel completely free and HAPPY, even for a little while. It was the best feeling, even while he committed atrocities. The team was never going to come. He was going to be stuck here until he was murdered by this psychopath. He couldn’t hang on that long. He couldn’t hurt Leta anymore. Hanging. It was the only way. He would cut strips of the thin blue sheet they were each allowed on their cot. He would tie them together and wait until the middle of the night and do it then. The plan was set.


	5. Worthy of celebrating

He did it while they all slept. He cut pieces of his sheet using only his teeth and what little strength he had. Whenever he heard someone stir he quickly stopped. Any and all activity out of the norm was reported to the Beast. In return he treated the snitch to extra food or accommodations. John was always on high alert. He played the game well. Too well. Spencer didn’t know what sort of horrors he would face if the Beast caught him trying to off himself.

He cut a third strip. This was going to take forever. The dim lights in the dungeon weren’t helping either. As he laid the third strip on top of the others, he looked over to her cell. Leta slept in her cot facing away from him as usual. What was going to happen to her once he was gone? Would the Beast find her another mate? Would he let John take over his role? The thought made him sick. Would he just kill her and deem her useless? Were all of those going to be his fault? Of course they would be. But what could he do about it...it was either those things or him continuing to hurt her. What if they were rescued? Everyone would hear about what he had done. They would all hate him. The media would find out. It would blare on the news for months probably. His mom. His mother would know what a monster he was now. No. He couldn’t live through that. 

He gripped another piece of his sheet and pulled, creating a fourth piece. He heard a moan coming from Christa’s cell, then the sound of her running... then vomiting. He stopped what he was doing and listened for awhile waiting for her to go back to bed and for everything to go quiet again. But it didn’t. The rest of the night was filled with her moans, vomiting, John’s annoyance at the two, and the tossing and turning of everyone.

It was almost daybreak. Spencer would have to finish his attempt the following night. He quickly tucked away his pieces of scraps underneath his mattress and settled in for a couple of hours of shut eye. 

*********

Leta opened her eyes as a bit of sunlight crept in. Morning already? What a sleepless night. Christa was sick all night and John made his inconvenience known. That asshole was doing something in his cell too. Some sort of tearing. She didn’t care. Fuck him. 

She moved onto her back. She winced. The soreness between her legs made it hard to move. She felt the familiar trickle of fluids making their way just out of her. Leta furrowed her brow. Gross. Taking a deep breath in she sat up and quickly made her way to her toilet. She pulled her new pair of cheap cotton panties down and sat down. The Beast had noticed her underwear, which Spencer had almost ripped clean off once, were in tatters and bought both girls a new pair. They were an ugly pink color with thin white plasticky lace on top that itched like no tomorrow. They fit both girls slightly big. But they were better than what they had before. She peed and stayed sitting afterwards. She knew gravity would do its job and most of him would come out of her. It stung. After waiting 10 minutes she wiped herself, the toilet paper showing streaks of pink. He was rougher the night before than he had ever been. Maybe….maybe i deserved it, she thought to herself. Maybe i deserve all of this. 

*********

They were all in a horrible mood by midday. The lack of sleep and even more noises coming from Christa’s cell throughout the morning put them all on edge. They were all sure she was dying. All the beatings must have caught up with her body. 

The door opened. The Beast walked in and announced it was shower day. Their moods suddenly shifted. Showers were rare. Leta got up and went to the front of her cell to get cuffed. She was first to shower, then Spencer, then John and finally Christa. In that order, each time. 

The freezing water actually felt good on her hot skin. She washed her hair quickly and used the soap to clean the rest of her body. She hated doing it in front of the Beast but she had to clean between her legs. If it was up to her she would have cleaned it for days. Getting the Spencer Reid off her was her lifes mission now. 

“One minute” He warned her, the gun still in his hand. He didn’t trust them. 

She rinsed all of the soap off and grabbed the towel, drying herself in record speed and putting her underclothes back on. 

“Times up. Cleanliness is next to Godliness” he said as she hung the towel back up. She lifted her hands up towards him and he cuffed her. They quickly walked back to the cells. 

Spencer went for his shower, then John, then Christa. They sat in their cells feeling slightly more human than the last 6 days. Showers do that to people. Make them feel clean and ...new. Even for a little while it’s a welcome feeling. Especially here.

It had been more than 5 minutes. Christa wasn’t back. Then a couple of more minutes went by. A nervousness filled the room. Leta looked up and caught Spencers eye. She quickly looked down. He looked worried. John paced his cell, mumbling angry threats and breathing heavily.   
2 more minutes passed. Where was she? Leta tried to imagine what could have happened. Did she take too long to shower? Did she try to escape? Did he kill her?? 

The sound of the door unlocking pulled Leta out of her thoughts and forced her to look up. In walked Christa with the Beast behind her. He had a proud look on his face and walked with purpose. 

“Well it looks like we have a little announcement to make today.” he said with grandiosity. “John. It appears your wife, Christa, is now with child. We’ve done a test and she has passed. Two blue lines. This is a momentous occasion! Worthy of celebrating. God has seen it fit to grant Christa with a child. This is the highest honor from our Lord and Savior.”

Everyones mouth fell open. Christa was pregnant. John looked her up and down and then sat on his cot, putting his hands through his hair. What did this mean? What was going to happen now? The only other people John and Christa shared the cells with aside from Leta and Spencer was another couple. And they never got pregnant. The Beast took the man out one night and never came back with him. The following day he took the woman as well and they never saw her again. That was the day Spencer came. What happens once you get pregnant? Does he let you go? 

“Do we get to leave now?” John asked the Beast. “We did what you wanted. We got pregnant. Can we go now?” 

The Beast looked at him as he put a practically catatonic Christa in her cell. “No. She must carry the baby to term n’ give’m a good Christian name.”

John’s heart sank. At least 7 or 8 more months. “Then we can go?” he asked in a small voice.

The Beast turned around. “Of course”

*********

That night Christa got an extra helping of canned peas. They were all jealous. Leta’s mind raced. Were they going to get to leave? If she got pregnant would the Beast let her leave too? Maybe she could just give the baby up for adoption and then live her life. Would Spencer have to come with her? Wait, they were married. Would the Beast make sure they stayed married? How would he even do that? The entire night her mind raced with the possibilities. Christa was so lucky. She wouldn’t have to have sex with John anymore. She wouldn’t get beaten anymore. All she had to do was be a good wife and stay pregnant until the end. Then her and John and the baby could leave. She suddenly had something to look forward to. She needed it to happen. She needed to go home. She looked up and caught Spencers eye. They were going to do this. No matter what. She was going to let it happen. 

Their eyes met and he saw the hope in them. Spencer had been watching her for several minutes. Her mind must have been racing with thoughts. He knew exactly what she was thinking and her hopeful look at him at the end solidified it. She really thought Christa and John would be able to leave. She really thought they had a chance of leaving here. Should he tell them the truth now? Would it matter or make things even worse? That small look of hope in her eyes crushed him. Even after all he had done to her. All the bruises he had given her. The finger marks around her neck. Forcing himself on her. After all of it she would endure even more pain just for the possibility of getting out of here in 9 months. He couldn’t kill himself. Not now. The Beast would either kill her or give her to John. Both were equally disturbing.


	6. Pangs of Regret

3 days later, Christa was spotting again. She remembered reading about spotting happening during pregnancy. She hoped the baby would stay put. At least long enough for them to leave. She liked the name Molly for a girl. That’s what she would call her. Little Molly. Don’t worry, Little Molly, we’ll get out of here soon she said to herself as she cradled her knees. I won’t let your mean daddy hurt me or you. She spent every day now thinking about the baby. Where they would go, what they would do, what they would eat. Her mind was finally occupied by something other than pain. She wouldn’t tell anyone about the spotting. She didn’t want a repeat of last time when she thought she got her period. That was a bad time. Molly deserves better. 

******  
Leta had spent the last 3 days thinking about pregnancy. She could almost taste the freedom. Women get pregnant all the time she would say to herself. It’s not a hard thing to do. Of course most women weren’t kept prisoner in a dungeon. She could imagine the stress might make it hard for someone to conceive. That’s it. She would have to settle down. She would have to control her anger, sadness and repulsion when she was around Spencer. It would probably be easier to conceive if she wasn’t rejecting him with every fiber of her being. Could she really do that? It had been almost a week since he had taken her in a rough way. Since he had almost choked her to death. Maybe i shouldn’t have said anything about his mother. She knew he was still upset about that.A mama’s boy, great. She could use this. Maybe if she acted more motherly this would go smoother. This was about self preservation. She HAD to. She thought long and hard about her next steps. 

******

Spencer laid on his cot, his hands behind his head. He looked at the ceiling as he thought about all the horrible things that awaited them. He had hidden the strips of his blue sheet behind the toilet and now just slept with a small sheet, almost completely useless. He would crumple it up into a pile on the bed so the Beast wouldn’t notice it was missing pieces of it. That’s him, Spencer Reid, always thinking ahead. And behind. And sideways. Always thinking. But then again so was his wife lately. He turned to his side to see Leta’s eyes darting back and forth as she played scenarios in her head. It must be nice to be completely oblivious to everything that’s about to happen to us, he thought. She still thought they would be getting out. 

The BAU team hadn’t been able to figure out what the Matchmaker was doing with the babies that had been born before the bodies were dumped. A couple of infants had been left at Safe Havens in towns in the area but they found that the DNA had not matched. 

Spencer thought about it again. What could he possibly want with infants? We’re underground. Did he have a family above ground? They never saw a Mrs. Beast. Or did they? The night he was abducted there was a child or a woman crying and there were two adults that needed to move his body. He remembered hearing the Beast tell someone to help him move Spencer’s body. Was that it? Did he have a wife that took care of the babies? Why would she need so many babies? He thought about it for hours never coming to any conclusion but it laid fresh on his mind. 

The next day the Beast came in in a mood. He had red marks on his face. He looked angry.   
“Leta. Spencer. I believe you two have not made yourself useful to the Lord. I’m quite disappointed. I’m none too sure what i’m supposed to do with you. Christa has proven herself worthy of being loved by the Lord..”

“And me too.” John said from his cell “ I..I’m feeling worthy too. I love Jesus and I’m glad i got to help make a baby with her, with my wife.”

Such a fucking moocher, thought Leta.

The Beast nodded at John. he breathed and deeply “Anyhow. I’m not sure I have much more purpose for you two”

He’s escalating, thought Spencer. He was cutting down the time limit for conceiving. He was going to kill them. But why? His thoughts raced. 

Just then Leta jumped from her cot and walked towards the door of her cell. 

“Please let me try again. I know i can make it work. Please. I want to pleasure my husband. I want to please God. i want to be a good wife. I can feel God’s love flowing through me. Let me show you how good i can be” She said, almost flirting with the Beast. 

He looked at her long and hard before nodding “Alright. I’ll put you on a probation period. But no funny business or you BOTH will pay dearly. You got that?” He said as he looked and pointed at each of them. They both nodded in agreement.   
“Alright then.” He reached up to her bars to put the cuffs on her and let her out of her cell. 

They walked to the marital room together and he locked her in while he went to get Spencer. 

She gulped hard and tried to take deep breaths in. Settle down. Calm down. Do what you need to do. Give him what he wants and you can leave here. You can leave here. Just be a good wife. Do exactly as you’re supposed to. Be submissive. Take your husband’s word. Give him your body. It’s okay. Just do as you’re told. She kept chanting it over and over in her head as she waited for the Beast to bring the person she hated the most in the world into the room. She closed her eyes and took more breaths in. 

The door opened and in walked Spencer and the Beast. He looked worn out. He wasn’t pleased at all to be here. Her heart skipped a beat. Did he not want this? Was he going to ruin this for her? What was wrong with him?? Leta’s eyes darted from Spencer to the Beast and back. She didn’t know what to do. The Beast unlocked Spencer's cuffs and took out his gun to hold on them. No funny business. The couple stood in front of each other. 

“Hi honey. Do you-” She started.

“Your man has not spoken to you Leta. YOU NEVER SPEAK UNLESS YOU ARE SPOKEN TO” The Beast growled. 

“I’m so sorry, yes. I’m sorry i don’t know what i was thinking. I’m just so eager to please him. I’m sorry!” She blurted out, waiting for the blow to come. 

Spencer lifted his hand and brought it to her jaw, gripping it hard “Don’t ever speak unless i speak to you.”

She looked down. “Yes sir” she said meekly. 

“I’m gonna leave y’all to it” The Beast walked towards the door and locked it behind him. Spencer stayed looking at the floor. 

Leta gently grabbed Spencer’s hand in her own and started walking towards the marital bed. He was taken aback. Her hands were so soft and she touched him so sweetly. He knew she hated him but this felt so nice. She felt so nice. She even had a small smile on her face. All he had known for months was anger, pain and resentment. This new change, no matter how fake was entirely welcome. They sat on the bed together and she spoke.

“I can feel God in my soul. He wants us to be together...to have a child together” She said.

He could see right through it. Right through the fake smile and the positive attitude. She was terrified of him and hated him to the core. How could he do this? And why hadn’t the Beast given him any drugs to help things along?

He pursed his lips and swallowed, nodding his head and looking at her. “Y-yeah. I know. I um- I want to be with you”. He said as she leaned in to kiss him. She placed the palm of her hand on his knee as she kissed him softly. He kissed her back unenthusiastically. Their lips parted and they looked at each other for a second before Leta looked away and began to unhook her bra. Tossing the bra to the floor she quickly took off her panties and looked at his face briefly before looking down at his underwear. He reached down to them and she quickly said “Oh. let me” as she grabbed at them and pushed them down. He obviously wasn’t turned on yet. His cheeks turned bright red in embarassment. She felt a sense of anger but it was quickly replaced by annoyance. She was going to have to up her game. 

She stood up from the bed and got directly in front of him. Grabbing both of his hands, she placed them on her hips and swayed them ever so slightly side to side. She had no idea what she was doing. Is this sexy? Do guys like this? She asked herself. Having never been willingly intimate with a man she had no answers. She leaned her head down and kissed Spencer again. 

She put her hands around the back of his neck and touched him all around, grazing her hands on his back, his shoulders and making their way down his abdomen all the while kissing him. 

“Is that okay?” She whispered to him. “Do you like that?”

And he did. He really did. Her touch was like heaven. Her words like honey. He knew it was all bullshit but he loved it anyway. She ran her hands through his hair still kissing him. She lifted one leg and put it on the right side of him then lifted the other and straddled him as he sat on the bed. She pressed her breasts against his chest as her kiss became firmer on his mouth. She brought her crotch down to where his was and could feel his member engorging. Good, she thought. Let’s get this over with. 

Spencer wrapped his hands around her waist as they kissed passionately. She lifted herself up a bit and he grabbed his penis and directed it towards her opening as she pushed herself onto it. Without thinking her body jolted, she slightly gasped and bit his lip. She winced in pain. She was still so sore from the rough night. Surprised by the jolt and bite, he opened his eyes to see her breathing shallowly and trying to gather herself. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and a furrowed brow. He knew right away she was in pain. 

“Do you wanna-” he started

“No! Don’t stop” she assured him, wrapping her mouth around his and gently easing him into her. 

She took him all in and rocked up and down for a few moments before he grabbed onto her back firmly and put her down on the bed so he was on top. He stayed at a normal pace. Nothing too rough, nothing to soft. Just….lifeless. There was nothing behind his eyes as he looked at his wife. She wrapped her legs around his waist so he could go deeper into her. There was no reason this should be longer than need be, she thought. She let out a small moan and kissed him. She noticed that helped. She did it again. Make him believe you like it. Make yourself believe you like it. Your body needs to be prepared for insemination. So she tried. She pushed her pelvis upwards so he could go deeper. He snapped out of his lifelessness and started to push harder into her and his breathing was faster. She stared at her husband like a good wife and moaned and moved and kissed him and let his cum fill her. They both were out of breath as he pulled himself out of her and laid next to her. 

Spencer felt pangs of regret immediately afterwards. He hated himself. He knew she didn’t really want him. She thought she was going to get to live if she had a baby. She was wrong. He was fucking a girl who would be dead in weeks to a few months time. And God only knows what would happen to their baby if she did end up pregnant. All three of them would probably be dead. And his mom would be all alone. 

He laid on his stomach with his head on his crossed arms. Tears threatening to fall. How did his life turn to this? How could he have let this happen? Where was JJ? And Emily? Where was the team that swore they would always protect him? Where were the people he thought were his friends? Where was the FBI he had dedicated his life to? Had they given up on him? Why wouldn’t they? Look at him. He wasn’t the same person he was. They were looking for Spencer Reid -Special Agent genius. Not this guy. This was somebody completely different. 

He was awoken in the middle of the night by her pushing him onto his back and climbing on top of him. She was ready for round two. She wanted optimum chances of conceiving so she went at it again. He laid there and let it happen. When they were done he turned away from her and stared at the wall until morning.


	7. Sickness and In Health

It had been three weeks. She was relentless. Everyday she asked the Beast for some time with her husband. Some days he said he was too busy, but on most days he was more than willing to give them an hour together. He took away their overnight time though. Spencer was glad of it. He was so tired. His body was drained. She started running her fingers through her hair to brush it. And tried to smile as much as she could so the Beast would look kindly on her. A few times she timed it perfectly where she would kneel at her cot and pray just as the Beast was coming in. She knew how to play the game well now. She was playing to survive.   
*  
It was always the same thing. They would get in the marital room and Leta would ‘seduce’ him. It worked the first few times pretty easily. She acted sweetly towards him and touched him softly. Sometimes cradling his head in her arms and kissing him deeply. She tried to make him feel wanted. So it worked. She would often be on top as he grew more and more disinterested in this charade. Soon it was harder for him to perform. He dreaded the feelings he got after finishing. His anxiety would get the best of him and Leta would get angry when her approaches wouldn’t work on him.

On one night he couldn’t perform, the Beast barged in and demanded Spencer punish his wife for her inability to arouse him. He hit her without a second thought. Leta fell to the floor. She made no sound, no complaint, no cry. She got up and apologized. He couldn’t look her in the eye anymore. He hadn’t in weeks. 

After a few times he couldn’t perform the Beast gave him the drugs. They felt good. He pushed her onto the bed. She tried to kiss him and he turned his head. She put her hands up to grab his face tenderly and he grabbed them and pushed her on to her back. She looked confused. What was he doing? He pulled off his underwear and she took off her bra. Before she could get to her underwear, he grabbed her by both arms and flipped her over onto her stomach. She didn’t have any time to object before he ripped her panties off her and threw them to the floor and spread her legs with his knees. She turned her head to the side and tried to push herself up to turn around but he grabbed her waist and was penetrating her in a fraction of a second without any workup. Just...straight in. It hurt. She gasped but stayed quiet. You want your fucking baby? Here’s your fucking baby. It’s not going to fucking save you he thought as he thrashed into her harder and deeper. Through gritted teeth he moaned and made animalistic noises before finally giving one last thrust and finishing inside of her. He collapsed in a heap off to the side as she brought her pelvis back down and laid there for a moment trying to collect herself. 

She willed the tears in her eyes to stay put. Don’t do it. You are NOT crying. This is just how some people make babies. It’s fine. 

But it wasn’t fine. He was crying. With every breath his crying grew louder until he jumped off the bed holding his head and started screaming and crying and having some sort of breakdown. Oh no. No no no no what was he doing?? She got up from the bed and tried to run to him to calm him but the door swung open and the Beast was face to face with a hysterical Spencer with bloodshot eyes and covered in tears. He acted fast. He pulled the taser out and sent thousands of volts into Spencer Reid’s body, sending his body crashing to the floor. Leta’s eyes became huge orbs as she looked at her husband convulsing on the floor and the Beast grabbed his pair of handcuffs and put them on him. What was he going to do with him? He can’t take him. He’s my ticket out of here! Instead the Beast said breathlessly and angrily “I’ll be back to finish this”. 

She knew what he meant. She walked up to Spencer and sat down next to him, putting a hand to his chest. He was breathing. She pushed the hair out of his face. She couldn’t help the tears coming down. She cried while holding his head “Wake up!” She told him, tapping on his cheeks, she looked at the door. “He’ll be here any minute! You need to wake up!” She cried. She pushed on his chest “Spencer wake up PLEASE. Please please wake up.” His eyes fluttered open for a second. He could hear her talking. Was she talking to him? “Spencer please don’t leave. He’s going to do something bad, i know it! Please don’t let him hurt us. Please. Wake up!”

He opened his eyes to see Leta pleading with him. Just then the door to the room opened and in walked the Beast with his gun pointed directly at them. 

Spencer sat up, his face showing pure panic. Leta positioned her body in front of Spencer with her arms outstretched. She looked deep into the Beast’s eyes. “Please.” She pleaded. If he killed Spencer she was as good as dead anyway. 

“Git out of the way girl” The Beast said with anger. 

“No. I swore to stand by him in sickness and in health! I promised God. He just got a bout of sickness for a second. He’s fine now. Aren’t you fine now, Spencer?” She asked as she quickly turned to face him. 

Spencer was stunned by her quick thinking. “Y-yeah. I-I’m I’m sorry. I just got worked up because of the drugs.” he lied. The drugs still working through him. His eyes were wide, sweat dripped from his head and he could feel the veins in his neck pulsating. It was taking everything in him to not push her away from him. He was disgusted with her. It took even more of him not to lunge at the Beast and get a few punches in before getting shot. He couldn’t quite figure out what was holding him back. Maybe his...humanity? Could he still have some of that left? 

The Beast stood and thought for a second. Who was he to question her promise to God? By allowing her to fulfill her sworn testimony to the Lord he was doing right by God himself. Yes. God would want him to sit beside him in the kingdom of Heaven for following His order. 

The Beast eyed them cautiously. He couldn’t let this foolishness continue. They were given their chance. Their probation period.

“This is the end of your time. I said i would give you a probationary period to prove your faith in God and he would bestow a child unto you if he see fit.” he paused “Now i understand it takes some moments to find out if you have been blessed with child, so i will allow you to wait a few days.” 

Leta’s heart sank. No. It wasn’t enough time. She needed more time with Spencer. She needed this to work. She needed to go home. Tears fell freely as she opened her mouth to object. 

The Beast had no time for her hysterics. He used the butt of his gun to shut her up and she fell to the floor as everything went black.   
*

5 days had passed since the last incident. He was true to his word. He didn’t let Leta fuck Spencer anymore. Strangely instead of thinking of ways to escape she thought of ways to get into Spencer’s cell. He would catch her staring at him every day. He hated it and always looked away, bile rising from his gut. She had even asked him if he could find a way to transport semen to her with a bottle cap or something in his cell. She tried to convince him use his water cup at one point. He was disgusted. She was becoming unhinged. All she could think about was getting a baby inside of her and going home. Making matters worse was the constant humming coming from Christa’s cell. She would sing and talk to the thing inside of her. Molly she called it. It upset Leta. Why does that crazy bitch get to go home? 

He came in and announced it was time to see if God had blessed them with a child. She looked at Spencer but he refused to look up. That was it. It was over. Their time had come. 

******  
They had gotten a call from the local PD. Something about a woman narrowly escaping an abduction. It was within the 200 mile area they had been focusing their efforts. 

“Did she get a good look at the guy?” Prentiss asked. 

“Says here she only caught a quick glimpse of him during the struggle.” JJ answered, staring at her tablet. 

“About 300 pounds and well above 6 feet tall. This guy isn’t exactly fitting in wherever he goes” Morgan added. 

“She says he tried to hit her over the head with a blunt object but she moved in the nick of time. She fought back. Says she scratched at his face while trying to get away and a noise in the distance made the attacker stop in his tracks. She said she ripped off a small gold cross in the fight.” Prentiss read. 

“Could this be our Matchmaker unsub?” Morgan asked the group.

“I believe so” Hotch answered in a firm tone. “The woman fits the description and the would-be abductor fits our unsub profile. Caucasian male, religious, strong enough to move male bodies. I believe this is the work of one very dangerous delusional man.” 

“What about the victim? She says she scratched him. Are we able to get DNA from her fingernails?” JJ asked.

“Yes. It’ll take a few weeks though. The labs are all backed up at the moment” Prentiss reminded them.

Garcia stood in silence. 2 weeks. How will that precious baby genius make it another 2 weeks? So much can happen in two weeks. So much could have happened in the passed months. Is he still with us? They haven’t found a body. Oh god a body. Oh sweet Krampus, Penelope don’t think such horrendous thoughts! Her mascara ran down her face. 

Morgan got up from his chair and placed his hands on Garcia’s arms. “We’re gonna find this son of a bitch, Baby Girl. I promise you that. We’re bringing Reid home.” 

She went in for the biggest hug she had ever given and breathed in. “Please please do. I am so scared for him.”

******

Spencer nearly didn’t make it to the toilet. He vomited until he was dry heaving. That was it. They were done for. Would it be quick? He hoped it would be quick. Mom. How would she react to the news? Who would write her letters now and visit her and make sure they were giving her the correct medication combo? Had the team told her about his absence? Of course they did. They had to have, right? His poor mother must be frantic. I’m so sorry mom. I’m so sorry to leave you. I never wanted this. You are the most important person in the world to me. Please forgive me. I love you so much. 

**  
He led her to the shower area where he had two tests waiting. They looked like the cheap dollar store kind. She looked up at him. Did he want her to take it here? In the shower? While he watched? What a stupid question. Of course he did. He’s such a damn perv and doesn’t even trust me to pee. 

She positioned herself over the drain and took the test. One after the other, a difficult feat to maneuver while squatting in a shower. Then….they waited. 

*****  
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sat on his cot. His stomach was in knots. 

The door opened and Leta walked in slowly, her head hung. She looked up at Spencer with a bewildered and broken look in her eyes and he froze.


	8. Are you okay?

Spencer stared at Leta. What did that look mean? What was she trying to say? 

“Well ladies and gentlemen, it appears we have some news.” he stated, his hand resting on Leta’s shoulder. 

“Our Leta...is with child” He said proudly. He rattled on for several minutes about God while Leta stood there stunned but….relieved. She would be out of here soon. She would finally taste freedom. Spencer ran to the toilet and vomited again. The Beast didn’t notice. The other prisoners didn’t care about the news. 

He put Leta in her cell and left. She sat on her cot completely dumbfounded. How did this happen? She didn’t FEEL pregnant. Could it be real? Those pregnancy tests looked really cheap. Could they have given her a false positive? She didn’t care. She was going to get to leave. This at least bought her time. Maybe they would get rescued before he realized she wasn’t showing in a few months. She laid down and looked at the ceiling and thought of everything. Her mind was spinning. She needed to be ready for anything. Ever since Christa’s pregnancy was announced she no longer had to have marital time with John with the exception of a few meal preparations and other “domestic” responsibilities to make sure she was still a good wife. But she didn’t have any bruises on her for the past few weeks. Leta looked forward to that. Finally she wouldn’t have to endure Spencer’s hands on her. Spencer. She turned her head to look at him. 

He sat on his cot, looking at the floor. He was pale and his hair stuck to his face. His eyes met hers and he looked away. Why wasn’t he happier? They were going to get to leave. She couldn’t understand him. Was he not happy unless he was beating her? That wasn’t fair. He didn’t look happy to do it and she knew it. She looked intently at him. What was wrong?

***  
He couldn’t vomit anymore. His mouth was dry and his stomach empty. He couldn’t believe this. Was she really pregnant? It didn’t change anything. It just bought them time. He wished she would stop looking at him. What did she want from him? He hated her. 

***************

Two weeks later. Two weeks of humming and whispering and silly dreaming. Two weeks of not being in complete fear. Just two weeks later it happened. It was during the day even. It was fine before then. I mean...there was still spotting. Every few days. And the day before there was some light cramping. But on that day….those exact two weeks later, was when it really happened. She gritted her teeth and didn’t let the pain show. She sat in the corner of her cell, away from the prying eyes of her neighbors and waited in silence. Waited for it to stop. The bleeding. It just kept coming. She had laid her sheet above her to hide the evidence. When food was brought she pretended to be asleep so she wouldn’t have to move. And she waited..in fear..in agony. Her baby. Little Molly. Her baby was leaving. How would she pay for this? This must be the ultimate sin, she thought. What would he make John do to her? How soon would they have to try again for another baby? Her face was blank. She didn’t have the strength to cry. Why was this happening?

**

Leta walked back and forth in her cell. It drove the guys mad, especially John. But then again he was always annoyed. She spun her arms in circles and did ballet moves. She knew exercise was important for the baby. If there was a baby. She still didn’t feel pregnant. She exercised anyway just in case. She often did it when the Beast came in so he could see she was going to be a good mother as well as wife. 

That day she heard a small whimper from Christa’s cell. 

“Are you okay?” Leta asked. 

Silence. 

Christa wasn’t much for talking anyhow. Leta let it be. 

She laid down to rest and fell asleep. She was woken up later in the evening by screaming. She bolted up on her cot and looked around. Spencer was standing at his cell holding on to the bars and peering out towards Christa’s cell. 

It was the Beast. He was yelling at Christa. She cried and screamed and fought as he pulled the sheet off of her and looked at the mess she had made. It was everywhere. A massive pool of blood flooded underneath her. Her once blue sheet was now covered in her miscarriage. Her face was pale and her whole body shook. He put his hand around her head and grabbed the back of her hair, pulling her up to her feet and dragging her out of her cell. 

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?? HOW DARE YOU. YOU HAVE ANGERED GOD AND HE HAS SEEN YOU UNFIT TO BRING LIFE INTO THIS WORLD. YOU ARE AN ABOMINATION” He yelled in her face as she tried to grab at his hands. She could hardly stand on her feet due to the blood loss, she was so weak. Spencer mouthed words but couldn’t find the voice to speak them. Leta watched in wide eyed horror. He was taking her outside of the cells. What was he going to do?? John paced in his cell, screaming obscenities. 

Spencer knew where they were going. He knew what was next. Christa was useless now. John would be leaving soon too. Spencer grabbed fist fulls of his hair and clenched his teeth and screamed. He slapped his face repeatedly as hard as he could and screamed. He kicked the bars and punched his cot and let it all out. And when he was done his body fell to the ground and he hyperventilated. Why hadn’t he done it earlier? Why hadn’t he just killed himself? 

Leta watched him lose it again. Tears streamed down her face as she called to him over and over. 

“Spencer? Spencer?” She needed him to calm down. What if the Beast came back?  
He ignored her.

*****  
They were awakened a couple of hours later by the Beast. 

“I apologize for that. I have taken Christa to the infirmary where she can be looked after.” he stated.

Liar, thought Spencer.

“John. I’ll be taking you to see your wife. You’ll need to care for her now.” The Beast said as he showed John a pair of cuffs and waited for him to put his hands through the slots of the cell. 

John was excited. He willed his mind to remain sharp and find a way out of the infirmary or to outsmart the Beast and get away. It was now or never. 

Spencer watched as the Beast lead John out of the cell block, his mouth dry and open. What could he say? What could he do? Why wasn’t he helping in anyway?? But he knew why. His mind played every probability out. Every option had the same end. John and Christa would be two more victims of the Matchmaker killer. Would he risk being hurt or killed just to say he tried to stop him? He couldn’t. There was still a possibility, however small, of him and Leta making it out. So no words came out. He just watched with eyes wide open as the Beast closed the cell door behind him. 

Leta believed him. She believed Christa was in the infirmary. She believed the Beast was taking John to her. She did up until 2 minutes after they left and she heard it. A horrifying scream. It was John. And then there was silence. Leta looked up at Spencer, her eyebrows drawn together. 

“Spencer?” She asked. 

He looked away. 

She looked at the door then back at him then back at the door. Was he going to come back to take her?

The fear made her cry out. 

“Spencer??”

Several seconds went by before he replied to her. 

“Don’t worry he’s not taking you yet. You’re still useful to him. For now” He said dryly.

For now. She played the words over and over in her head. For now. She tried to take slow breaths to calm herself. It wasn’t good for the baby to be all riled up. If there was a baby.


	9. Goodnight Spencer

She felt bad for thinking it, but the one good thing about not having extra cell mates was that they got more food. She was glad of it. She was always hungry. 

****  
The BAU got the call about two more murder victims. They fit the description of the Matchmaker victims. The girl had been recently pregnant and she was coupled with a man. They would find their identities soon enough. They were close to their unsub, they could feel it. They had narrowed down their search even more. They would find Spencer Reid and bring him home. 

*****  
1 month later

It was night time when she noticed it. She ran her hand along her abdomen and noticed it rounded out a little more than usual. She had been eating more since the departure of Christa and John so she attributed the slight weight gain to the food. But this was different. There was a real bump there now. How could she already be showing? Leta realized she must have been further along than she thought. She must have gotten pregnant towards the beginning of her confinement. 

Should she tell Spencer that she was showing? That she was further along than she thought? These days he seemed perfectly content staring at his wall. He ate his food and stared at the wall. That was his daily regimen. Often times she could hear him reciting numbers. She wasn’t sure what they meant. He never looked at her. 

The following morning the Beast came in to bring them their breakfast. Leta sat up on her cot and welcomed the food. The last meal was lunch the day before, she was so hungry. She had kept a piece of bread under her pillow to snack on in the evening. She was still terrified of the Beast ever since Christa and John left. She understood now. She understood her life was meaningless if she lost this baby. She knew he would kill her without a second thought. 

“Eat this and when i come back, Leta we’re gonna give you a little check up. See how that baby is comin’ along”. The Beast said sternly. 

She stared at the floor, petrified. She took deep breaths through her nose to calm herself. She needed to eat. One step at a time. 

After breakfast the Beast did as he stated. He cuffed her and lead her outside the cell. She whimpered out of fright and followed him down the hall. He took her to the marital room and made her lie on the bed. He didn’t take the extra precaution now, with a gun to her head or even cuff her to the bed. He knew she wouldn’t run. Not now. He took out a horn looking instrument and pressed it to her belly firmly. She gasped and grabbed at her stomach. He swatted her hands away as he pressed his ear to the instrument. He was listening to something. 

“Yup. yup...sounds good. I can hear it. That’s a strong heartbeat.” He said before taking the instrument off her and looking her in the eyes. “Looks like that baby has a good strong beatin’ god-fearin’ heart.” He finished in a nod and a stare. Leta felt overwhelmed and creeped out. The Beast walked to the wall and brought back a shirt. It was hers. It was the one she wore when he first abducted her. 

“I thought now since you was starting to show, maybe it would suit you to be a bit more modest” he said as he handed her the shirt. 

In her head she thought of how stupid it was that he would hand her a shirt with no pants but out of her mouth came a “Thank you” and she was. She really was thankful to finally put a shirt on. Her bra was a filthy mess and she was glad to no longer have to look at it and covering her belly made her feel more protected somehow. 

He put the cuffs back on her and walked her back to her cell and left. 

She wanted to tell Spencer what had happened. All the good news. But she knew he didn’t care. She and the baby weren’t going to make it with all this stress around her and no outlet. So she did what she had to do to calm herself down. To make things somewhat normal. To bring them both back to Earth. She started talking. Not about the baby or all of this. She just started talking about things in her life. Funny things, meaningful things, silly things...anything. School dances, her tripping in front of the whole school during the 8th grade field day races, picture day, getting in a fight with her friend Jackie in the 4th grade, her pets when she was a child. Everything. Everything to humanize her. To make her husband see her as a person and someone worth looking at and talking to. And at the end of the day just before the sun went down and they laid their heads to sleep she would finish with “Goodnight Spencer. I hope you have good dreams.” And every day...silence. 

***3 weeks later****

She had finished her story for the day as the sunlight went dim and she laid her head on her pillow. “Good night Spencer. I hope you have good dreams” she said in a shakey voice, holding back tears. The cold silence was started to weaken her mental state. But tonight was different than the last 21 nights. Tonight he spoke. 

“Goodnight Leta” he whispered from his cot. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled to herself as she drifted off to sleep. Finally. 

In the morning the Beast came in. He was angry.   
“Get up! Both of you! You think Jesus died on that cross so you could lie in bed and sleep all day?? Buncha worthless sinners!” he spat out, looking at both Leta and Spencer. 

They both sat up on their cots and put their feet on the floor, preparing for anything. 

“Leta have you done ANYTHING for your husband as of recent?” He asked, sweat dripping from his red face.

“I-I-I…” She stumbled. 

“GET UP BOTH OF YOU!” He yelled.

Leta instinctively grabbed her belly to shield it as if it would help keep the fear away from her baby. She stood up and watched as Spencer Reid was handcuffed and taken out of the cell. He came for her next, cuffing her and holding a gun to her head as he lead her to the room. 

“It is about time you started doing something for your man, Leta. Some women….some women they don’t appreciate ANYTHING a man does for them. Some women don’t UNDERSTAND how hard a man has to work sometimes. How he gives his ALL for his family.” He went on and on. He was talking about somebody specifically. Himself. His...wife? Family? Something was going on, Leta and Spencer could tell. As the Beasts rant grew louder and louder and he became angrier he took a look at Leta’s small feminine face and lashed out, slapping her across the face. Her knees gave out and she fell to the floor. She got up as quickly as she could in case he wanted to get a kick or two in. 

It was then that Spencer finally noticed her. Finally looked at her. She stood there wearing a light purple shirt and holding her stomach tightly as if to protect it. The shirt fit snuggly around her growing belly. She was about 5 months along he estimated. There was a baby in there. His baby. He felt every emotion rush through his body at that moment. He couldn’t let him hurt Leta. He couldn’t let the Beast hurt his baby. He quickly rose up and stood between the Beast and Leta. 

“Make me food.” He said to her, their noses practically touching. He turned towards the Beast and explained “I’m sorry. I’m hungry and she needs to learn when to please me. I’m hungry now. Make me food” he repeated to Leta. 

She looked down and nodded. 

The Beasts breathing slowed down and he calmed as he watched his parishioners perform their Godly duties.

******  
He threw them back in their cells after Leta had fed Spencer his eggs. The Beast came back with their normal breakfast straight afterwards. 

They ate in silence. 

When they were done with their bland oatmeal, they put their trays towards the front of their cells as usual and sat back on their cots. 

After a few minutes Spencer spoke. 

“Did she ever speak to you again?” he asked.

“huh? “ Leta asked confused.

“Jackie. Your friend in Mrs. Miller’s 4th grade class. You said you had a fight and you weren’t friends for the rest of the year. Did you ever speak to her again?” He asked, eyeing her baby bump, the only sign of life in this dungeon. He wished he could touch it. 

She looked back at him. “Yes. We were best friends in 5th grade all the way until 8th grade when she moved to Florida.”

“Oh. Who was your best friend in the 8th grade?” he asked, starting conversation with her. Finally seeing her as a person again. Wanting to know even more about her. It was slow going and he was still trying to heal from the forced interactions between them. But this was a start. They both needed to heal. They needed to work together. He wasn’t going to give up. He had to protect his baby. His son or daughter. He wouldn’t let that monster take his child. He needed to make a plan. They were going to get out of there. 

They had to.


	10. With purpose

There was an ominous silence throughout the BAU lately. It had already been about 6 months since Spencer had gone missing. Given the dates of the victims they found and their abduction dates, Spencer’s time was coming. 

Garcia found it hard to be her normal cheerful self, instead giving only half smiles and nods when asked for help.. 

The team, who should have been growing closer during this time, separated further and further from each other as time passed. They were hurting. What made matters worse was that they still had to go catch other bad guys when one of their own was at the mercy of one himself. 

Hotch tried to keep the team on their toes so they could run their usual investigations but their minds were elsewhere. He felt he had failed Spencer. The trail had gone cold as of recent. There were no new clues. They must have gone through everything with a fine tooth comb at least 300 times. Over and over until arguments broke out every time. Tensions were high. Time was running out for Spencer and every one of them knew it.

Prentiss went out driving every single weekend. She drove to the exact area where their luck expired every time. They had now narrowed it down to a hundred mile area. That wasn’t enough. There needed to be more. There had to be. They were missing SOMETHING. She stayed in local hotels and spoke with local people, pretending to just be in the area for antiques. She made sure to listen to talk at the diners. She looked at everyone, eyed their height, weight, clothing...everything. She would scour every inch of that 100 mile area if she had to. The problem was there were so many small towns within that area and so much of her time was spent sitting still and listening. Time wasn’t on her side anymore. 

*****  
It had been a couple of weeks since the Beast had hit Leta and Spencer came to her rescue. They had spent most of the time talking. Leta told him more about her, Spencer shared small details about himself. She talked about anything and everything. He enjoyed the sound of her voice when she wasn’t afraid. He imagined in normal circumstances she was actually quite pleasant. There was one thing he enjoyed more than her voice though. And that was the way she looked when she stroked her belly and sang quietly to their baby. 

Spencer hadn’t thought much about having children before, he was always so busy with work. He had dated a couple of women in the last few years but it never worked out. He loved being a godfather to Henry. He wondered if the baby was a boy or girl. He wondered if he would even be able to find out. Or see it. Or hold it just once. He brushed the horrible thoughts away. Would it have Leta’s dark eyes or his hazel eyes? Would it have a mind like his or be able to sing beautifully like her? 

She traced invisibly designs on her belly. Her purple shirt barely able to cover half of her bump now. She hummed a soft tune as she laid on her side on her cot. It was almost lunch time. She   
was so hungry. She hoped the Beast would bring food soon. Food had been slowing down lately and there was less of it. Spencer had pleaded for the Beast to bring more. He used the Beasts logic about Godliness and making sure his baby had enough food to grow well. He would recite bible passages back to the Beast trying to play on his sympathy. It worked a couple of times but lately his mood had changed. He was angrier than usual. He seemed to be coming unhinged. 

Spencer took it upon himself to give Leta any extra food he could throw her way. He knew she needed it more than he did but he was really starting to feel the effects of less food consumption. 

*****  
“I mean just LOOK AT YA! Can’t even give a woman what she needs that’s for sure. No money comin’ in. No supplies comin’ in. I just buried my baby and you got nuthin’ to say about it Jeffrey, NOTHING. Why I married you I haven’t a clue i shoulda listened to my daddy he knew you was trash when’ee first laid eyes on ya.”

“Your daddy didn’t know shit Shelley. He was a drunkard with a whore problem”

“Oh yeah you just know about that don’t you Jeffrey, seein’ as how your own mama-”

“DON’T YOU SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD SHELLEY WALKER YOU LEAVE MY MAMA, LORD REST HER SOUL, OUTTA YOUR MOUTH.”

“Look at me Jeffrey! I’m a mother with no child, you keep giving me sick babies. How’m i supposed to raise sick babies? Cry cry cry that’s all they do all day long, CRY. Nothing ever fixes them. They just like working on my nerves. THEY KNOW WHAT THEY DOING, THOSE BABIES. How’s a good Christian woman supposed to rest when those wicked sick babies keep with their crying! ”

“I’m trying Shelley. I’ve got one on the way in a quick few months-”

“I DON’T WANT A FEW MONTHS I WANT MY CHILD NOW JEFFREY WALKER I SWEAR ON MY-”

******  
Leta gasped and sat up. Spencer sat up and looked at her with worry in his eyes. She looked up at him with her mouth open and a hand on her stomach. 

“It kicked. Oh my god i felt it kick.” She beamed, touching all over her belly trying to see if it would do it again. 

Spencer’s face softened and he smiled and looked at her. 

“Really?? How many times did it kick?”

“Just once. On the left side. Oh my god i can’t believe it!” 

“What did it feel like?” Spencer asked, his hands on the bars to his cell and his face pressed forward, wanting to be closer.

“I don’t know..just...a kick! It was so tiny.” Leta beamed with excitement and love. Her face showing a beautiful smile and her husband looked at her peacefully across the way. 

There had never been a happier moment in this dungeon before now.

 

Then….the door flung open with purpose and evil entered.


	11. MINE

She had to climb stairs to get there. It was dark and she was weak and scared. 

“Go on up girl. We haven’t got all day.” The Beast said.

They came upon a platform and she waited for the Beast. He reached into his pocket and grabbed a key to a giant padlock that was sealing the door shut. Before opening it, he slapped the handcuffs back on her. 

When he opened it, the bright afternoon sun made her eyes hurt. She closed them tightly and put her arms up to her face. She was outside. In the real world. She breathed in heavily, taking in the smell of nature. She heard the sounds of birds and an airplane flying nearby. Was she free? Was he letting her go? She almost smiled….almost. 

The Beast grabbed her by the cuffs harshly and led her to a small cabin nearby. It looked almost condemned. Leta was afraid. What was he going to do there? 

He grabbed another set of keys and unlocked the door to the cabin. They walked in, the floors squeeking uneasy underneath their feet. Leta looked around. It was dim. The dingy window curtains covering the light that should have been coming in. 

“Shelley!” The Beast yelled out. 

Leta turned in every direction. Who was Shelley? 

Out of a dark corridor a figure appeared. It was a woman with wild hair, wiping her hands on her aged summer dress. She looked Leta up and down, resting her eyes on Leta’s growing belly and then looked at her husband. 

“Is that my baby in there?” She asked him, pointing to Leta’s stomach. 

“It sure is darlin’” he said with pride in his voice. 

Leta looked at them both with confusion and bewilderment written on her face. “What?? NO! NO THIS IS MY BABY!” She screamed, holding her belly as much as she could with the handcuffs wrapped tightly around her wrists. What was happening? What were they saying? Did they want to take her baby? Were they going to steal it from her? She started to hyperventilate and cry. 

“HEY. YOU SETTLE DOWN RIGHT NOW” The Beast yelled. 

“Jeffrey go get her a chair, the girl needs to sit” Shelley spoke up.

The Beast did as he was told and placed a hand on Leta’s shoulder, forcing her to sit down. 

“Why are you doing this?? Please let me go. Please don’t hurt my baby! Please don’t take her from me!” She sobbed. 

“Oh sweetheart. That was never your baby. That is my child. It has always been my child. I need a baby, you see. I’m a mother. A mother needs a child and that’s what i’m gonna get, see?” Shelley said to her in a calm manner. 

Leta couldn’t stop crying. “But why can’t you have your own baby?? This one is MINE!”

“Now you need to stop saying that, ya hear?! That is MY child. MINE. I used to have a baby growin’ in my belly too, you aint that special. ‘Cept Jeffrey here did’n make me a bride yet and God punished us. He punished us for not bein’ married and that poor sweet baby…” Shelley choked on her words. 

“Now Shelley settle down” warned the Beast. 

“Jeffrey you leave me in peace!” Shelley warned. “My poor sweet baby had to go to heaven. But God told us we could have more babies if we just tried. So we did with lots of different kinda people. But i keep gettin’ sick babies but this one...i can feel it. This is my true precious child. And we will all follow His word this time.” 

Before Leta could scream, the beast had put duct tape over her mouth. She would stay here for the next few days to appease Shelley. So Shelley could see that Jeffrey was doing all he could to bring a baby into this world for her. She slept tied to a filthy bed at night and strapped to a chair during the day.

*****

Spencer asked for her every time the Beast came to bring him his food. Although calling it food now was being generous. It was obviously left over canned food that someone hadn’t finished. Hardly any at that. He pleaded with the Beast to let him know where Leta was. He cried in his cell at the thought of harm coming to Leta or the his baby. Was this it? Were they really done for? After all of his wishing and hoping and tiny moments of sanity. Was the end here?

*****

Those few days were torturous for Leta. Shelley would spend hours obsessing over Leta’s belly. Talking about how tiny the baby would be in her arms. How it would grow up to be god-fearing man and a man of the bible. He would probably have hundreds of parishioners, she speculated out loud. She showed Leta the mounds of other baby clothes she had bought and made. Clothing for babies that wouldn’t live to see their first birthdays. And then she let her off the chair and showed her where she had to bury her sick children behind their home, in the woods. Leta had never cried so hard in her life. She had never been in so much despair and sadness. Her babies movements were now constant reminders of what she was losing. 

*****  
“Alright Shelley i gotta take her back. I’ve gotta go into town to gather more supplies.”

“How long you gonna be gone for?” Shelley asked impatiently. She hated to see her baby go. She had plans for that child and didn’t like the thought of it being out of her line of sight.

“Just a few hours. I gotta go into town. Maybe i can come back with some more food” he stated, grabbing Leta by her arm and lifting her off her chair. 

“Well fine but don’t take too long. I’ve got some verses i wanna read to my child before bedtime” She said. 

*****  
The Beast opened the cell door and Spencer rose from his cot. He had Leta with him!

Spencer clung to the bars of his cell and watched as he put Leta into her cell. He needed to ask her what was going on. 

The Beast left and Leta laid on her cot and sobbed uncontrollably. 

“Leta what’s going on?” Spencer asked. “What happened??”

She cried and held her belly. Several minutes went by before she answered.

“They’re gonna take my baby!” She cried. “They’re going to take it and raise it and leave me for dead. If it cries too much Shelley will do something awful. Oh god!” She sobbed again and didn’t stop until she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. 

Spencer was horrified. Even though he knew it was the most probable outcome, hearing it come from the mouth of the mother of his child was almost too much to bear. He watched her as she cried and fell asleep. Shelley? So there was someone else. A woman. And she was stealing the prisoners babies and keeping them as her own.

******

Prentiss scanned the chip aisle of the grocery store. She had been in this town for 2 days with nothing to go on. She needed snacks. Her 1 star motel room didn’t come with a vending machine. Even if it had, she wouldn’t have taken the risk of eating anything from it. A roach motel at its finest. This was one of the poorer towns in the area. Not much to see but dilapidated buildings and a few scattered homes here and there and lots of wooded area. There was only one grocery store, if you could call it that. It was about the size of her apartment back home. 

The bell chimed as someone walked in. She didn’t bother looking up as she tried to figure out if she wanted the cheese flavored ones or the ranch. Not much else of a selection she thought to herself. 

Over the aisle she could see a tall man checking out the canned food section, selecting a few items and putting them in his basket. A can of peas, corn, and a fruit cocktail. He headed to the front and she closely followed, grabbing a random chip bag that she passed on her way to the checkout.

She stood behind him as she assessed his height and weight inconspicuously. He wore a cross around his neck. Was this him, she asked herself. He fit the description. Before leaving. The giant man looked at the cashier and said “God Bless you, John. Hope you’re doing well. God’s always watching over you.” 

John gave him a small wave as he left. 

As he started to ring up her bag of chips he shook his head “That man. God this and God that, i swear. It’s all fire and brimstone with that man. He calls himself a God fearing man but i swear he’s just a nut” John said with a slight laugh, giving her the total for her purchase. 

Prentiss smiled at John and asked “Yeah i know one or two like that. Does he live in these parts?” She asked nonchalantly. 

“Oh yeah. Him and his wife hole up near Alfred street near the water tower. Both of em are as strange as they come. Do you need a bag for this ma’am?”

“Oh no that’s fine. Thank you” Prentiss replied as she grabbed her snack and headed out the door. Once she got in her car she got her phone out of her pocket and dialed.

“I know where he’s at.” She said to the person on the other line.


	12. GO

It was taking too long, Prentiss thought. It had been an hour. How much time did they think they had? She had called into her team and they arranged a SWAT team to go out to the town with them. Orders were to be quiet and out of sight until the last possible second. One of their own was possibly in there. An hour. It had already been an hour. The BAU should have been there 3 minutes ago. She was fixated on the time. 

*******

Spencer stared at Leta the entire time she slept. It had been a couple of hours since she had passed out from sheer exhaustion. His beautiful bride. His baby. So far from his reach. His mind ran a mile a minute thinking of what to do. What to say, how to act, where to go, how to get there. But the Beast seemed more determined than ever lately. He practically tuned Spencer out at this point. 

He heard someone messing with the door and waited for the Beast to come through. He opened his mouth to begin his manipulation when...a frail looking woman walked in. She looked at him with wide eyes and looked to her left to see Leta sleeping in her cell. Her eyes softened at the sight.

She pulled out a ring of keys and walked to her cell. The sound woke Leta up as she turned around to see the source of her agony. Tears instantly fell. 

“No. Please.” she whispered as she sat up and planted her feet on the ground. 

Shelley produced a gun and held it to her side. “Now girl, you know we don’t like no funny business. You’re gonna come with me.”

Spencer, realizing who it was, opened his mouth to speak. “ ma’am? Ma’am please. Can you take me? I’d be much more helpful. I can do stuff for you. I’m stronger than she is. She needs to rest so she can grow the baby.”

Shelley looked at Spencer confused. “How could you possibly help me? You don’t have my baby in your guts, do you now? Come girl, I’m gonna see if that baby’s ready to meet me soon.”

Leta looked at Spencer “Spencer!!” She cried out. Shelley forced the gun into her back and pushed her through the door. 

“Spencer!!!” She screamed out.

“Leta!!” He screamed after her, kicking the bars to his cell over and over, using every ounce of energy he could muster. 

A couple of seconds later he heard her scream again from further away. 

“No!!! No please!! Please Shelley I’ll do anything!” She cried out, her voice eventually trailing out in the maze of their underground prison. 

******

“Eyes locked on our target?” Hotch said into his earpiece. 

“Affirmative. He just went in. We’re ready to move in on your order.” Said a SWAT member on the other line. 

The place was surrounded. The silhouette of a large man visible through the curtains and spaces in between. They kept their eye on their target. From inside they heard him call out for a woman named Shelley. 

“Go.” Hotchner gave the order. 

The SWAT team and BAU inched their way towards the cabin. 

“Go! Go! Go!” They barged into the cabin, guns drawn, yelling to its occupants to get down on the ground. SWAT and FBI circling the cabin and looking for any escape routes. 

The Beast, distressed and angry, looked at the men invading his home. “Shelley!” he called out again for his wife. 

“GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! HANDS UP! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!” They yelled, guns drawn on the man. 

The Beast got on his knees and slowly put his hands up.

“DROP THE KEYS!” The men yelled. 

“Alright.” he said calmly as he quickly pressed down on two buttons on the key ring. Before the SWAT could react, they heard an explosion in the distance. 

He was quickly pushed to the floor and cuffed, his keys being kicked across the room. They ran out of the cabin in a rush. Chaos ensued outside. Two SWAT members were on the ground. Three others were running away from a large hole in the earth where fire and smoke billowed out. 

Agents and members waved arms, yelled commands, gave signals and raised guns. 

The cabin had been cleared. No sign of Spencer Reid or anyone else. 

****

A small group of FBI and SWAT agents were chosen to carefully make their way to the gap. At the front were trained firefighters ready to battle the blaze. Lowering their masks they made their way in. 

*****

Spencer kicked and kicked the bars until his legs were like jelly. He screamed her name over and over. He couldn’t hear her anymore. But that didn’t stop him. 

He heard something. Then he saw something. Across the small windows at the top of their dungeon. Shadows. Quickly moving shadows. He knew those fast moving footsteps. He MADE those fast moving footsteps many times before. It was a formation of feds. They were being saved. 

“HELP!! DOWN HERE!!” he screamed knowing full well they probably couldn’t hear him. He kept at it at it for several minutes before a loud piercing sound and bright light enveloped him and he went crashing to the floor.

******  
******  
Thick black smoke made it hard for them to see. It was being sucked up into the outside air quickly so they moved further inward. There was rubble everywhere. And...cans? Clothing. As they made their way through the maze, they found a room with a bed that had been blown almost completely away, a fire still going in the room. The room next to that one had a makeshift kitchen and a window into the other room. The place was unstable and they knew they would have to get out soon. As the men quickly made their way through the place looking for victims, Morgan noticed a box in another room. Studying it carefully he knew what is it was. Another bomb. The men looked at each other. They needed to get out of there NOW. They didn’t know if he had rigged this bomb to go off in a later time than the last or how many more bombs there were. SWAT made a gesture for them to fall back. As they quickly made their way back towards the opening, Morgan noticed a door off the left they hadn’t checked. The wall near it had been partially caved in by the blast. He cautiously opened it and whipped his head side to side with his gun drawn. 

He shuffled his feet quickly forward, senses heightened. He heard a groan coming from his right side. 

“WE GOTTA GO” another agent yelled to him. 

Morgan looked at him then looked down at where the sound was coming from. 

“Reid? REID? IS THAT YOU??”

Morgan got on his knees and reached through the bars of the cell and pulled on Spencer’s hair. 

“REID!! WAKE UP!”

“AGENT MORGAN WE HAVE TO LEAVE. NOW!” the agent said. 

“I’m not leaving without him! You go! I’m getting him out!” Morgan yelled sternly. He wasn’t about to leave Reid behind. No matter what. 

He pulled on the bars as hard as he could but they wouldn’t budge. He kicked the bars. Nothing. He looked around for anything. Anything to use and then he realized what he could do. He went out the door and to the partially caved wall and started kicking and clearing away rubble. 

“Reid I’m coming for you! Wake up!” He worked fast. 

“Morgan?” A small weak voice said. 

“Yeah it’s me pretty boy! I’m coming to get you. I need you to move away from the wall, i’m bringing it down!”

Spencer’s head was spinning and he heard a loud high pitched noise. He could hear Morgan’s muffled voice talking to him. He tried to move as far from the wall as possible, pieces of rubble landing on him. He covered his head as he laid on his side, passing out and coming to every few seconds. 

After he had made a hole big enough to pull Spencer out of, he grabbed just under Spencer’s arm and pulled him towards himself. This woke Spencer up a little more. His head still swimming. 

“Come on pretty boy! We gotta get outta here! Stand up for me. We gotta run!” Morgan told him urgently.   
Spencer pushed himself through the hole in the wall and attempted to stand up on the other side with Morgan. His knees were wobbly and he had a hard time keeping his eyes open. The smoke started to fill his airways and he coughed trying to clear it. Morgan wrapped Spencer’s arm around him as he did the same and used his strength to move them towards the exit. 

Spencer coughed and tried to walk more as Morgan rushed them towards the light. 

“No...no” he coughed. 

“Yes. We gotta go!” 

“No. Leta. Leta. We-” he coughed a few more times. 

“Come on Reid we gotta go.”

“No! We have to get her” he mumbled, coughing and nearly passing out. 

At the opening an agent helped pull Reid out as Morgan followed closely behind. Reid coughed as they led him away from the dungeon. 

“Oh my god, Reid! Is he okay? I need a paramedic!” Prentiss yelled out as she ran towards Morgan and Spencer. 

“Bring him over here for now, Morgan. You should get checked out too.” JJ said.

Spencer’s knees gave out as soon as he reached the team. Morgan let go of him and let him catch his breath. Spencer took big breaths full of fresh air. Fresh air. It had been so long. Everything was so...bright. Even now just before sunset. The orange and pink sky hurt his eyes. He rose up on one knee and took a step.

“Whoa Spence, no, you need to wait here for the paramedic.” JJ objected.

“I-I need to get Leta.”

“No. Reid, you can’t go back in there. It might go at any second.” Prentiss informed him. 

“Leta’s in there! I’m not leaving her.” He said as he took a few more steps before collapsing to his knees again. 

And then the ground shook. And a loud noise filled their ears. Another explosion. 

Reid looked on in horror as more black smoke spilled out of the underground prison. His eyes filled with tears and his mouth was agape. He slumped his shoulders and cried out as he held his head in his hands. 

A commotion rang out nearby. 

“My wife is in there! Get my wife!!” He yelled, struggling to stand up and get away from the officer. 

Spencer knew who that was. He knew. His hands slowly fell to his lap and he looked to his left and glared at the Beast sitting handcuffed on the ground 20 feet from him. A rage he had never known before coursed through his veins as he gathered every ounce of energy he had left and sprinted towards the devil. Before anybody could react, Spencer had reached him and kicked Jeffrey Walker in the face with all his might, breaking his nose and eye socket. Quickly thereafter he got on top of him and punched him 4 times, shattering his other eye socket and knocking out 4 of his teeth as he screamed at him. Before he could get his fifth punch in, he was restrained by his team. The officer assigned to watch the Beast looked the other way. 

“Spencer! Spencer stop. I know you would love nothing more than to hurt that man, we all would like to have our turn, but you know there are rules we have to follow.” Prentiss reminded him. 

Spencer dropped to his knees and cried in despair. A paramedic arrived to walk him to the ambulance. 

Another commotion rang out to the right of him. 

“I need a paramedic here!” yelled out an agent. 

Spencer looked up and there she was. She was propped up next to an officer, coughing and holding her belly. 

The BAU watched as Reid scrambled to his feet and ran towards the girl. Leta looked up to see Spencer a few feet from her. They stared at each other for a moment before he spoke. 

“I thought i had lost you. Both.” He said as he looked at her stomach. 

“We got out. We did it, Spencer.” She said with a shaky voice as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. 

He nodded and cried. He lifted his right hand, shaking and full of blood, and finally got to touch his wife’s belly. He finally got to feel his baby. 

“Yeah. We did.” Spencer said.

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of writing an epilogue or another separate much shorter story to wrap this up a bit. I'm not sure if there's much of an interest in that. Let me know! Thanks so much for reading!


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to condense the epilogue down as much as possible so it wouldn't be a super long new chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who read my fanfic! A special thanks to all who commented, it really made me happy to see people enjoying my work! :)

They were both in the hospital for 2 weeks. Dehydration and malnourishment as well as smoke inhalation. On the second day a sonogram was performed on Leta and she finally got to see her baby. Sorry. Her babies. Two perfect little identical cherubs floating in her belly. She was stunned. She stared at the screen with her hand over her mouth and cried. The doctor and the tech smiled at her. They knew what she had been through but also knew this was a happy cry. A relief that her babies were healthy and growing well. It was a stark contrast to the invasive procedures they had to do on her the day before. But now she could rest. 

On the fifth day Spencer got to visit her. He was wheeled in by a nurse and Leta looked at him and immediately down. 

“No. Leta look at me. You can look at me now. It’s over.” He assured her. 

She looked up and they stared at each other. A smile eventually covered their faces and at that the babies danced inside her. She put her hand on her belly and told him the news. Twins. 

“Oh my god.” He whispered. “Are-are you ok? Are they ok?”

Leta assured him everything was fine. They all just needed rest.  
*****

After being released Leta went to stay with her grandmother near Quantico. Her parents proving to be too overprotective and smothering her after the incident. She didn’t want to explain anything to her extended family and friends. Not yet anyway. Spencer went to stay with JJ for awhile until he was well enough to go back to his place. They both had nightmares regularly. Getting readjusted to normal life would take time and counseling. They both saw somebody twice a week. 

*****  
The FBI had to go through everything. Every piece of evidence they had taken away from the dungeon before the explosion. Everything from the house. They combed through it all. They assigned two agents to watch the tapes. He had taped everything. Everything he had done to them. Everything he had made them do to each other. 

Prentiss went to JJ’s to let Spencer know she was one of the agents that would be watching the tapes. She didn’t want him to find out from someone else. 

His immediate reaction was to shake his head and look down. Streams of tears down his face. 

“No. No. Please get somebody else to do it, Emily, Please. Not you. Another agent from another branch” He sat hunched over. 

“Spencer I know this is going to be hard.I know you don’t want me to see what happened but we need to do this. We’ve got all our available agents already working on this and they each have their assignments. I won’t look at you any different Spencer. I promise” She said as she touched his arm. He quickly got off the chair and walked to the guest bedroom and closed the door. 

Prentiss and JJ exchanged glances, both feeling horrible.

*****  
She stared in wide eyed disbelief. Often leaving the room for fresh air, sometimes leaving the room to vomit. Always with red eyes. She tried to hold it together but it was difficult. Spencer Reid was her friend. Almost like a little brother. The things that were on those tapes were horrific.   
Hotch and Morgan watched her those few days. They couldn’t imagine what was on those tapes that made the most stoic among them break down. She had a hard time making eye contact with them. And she avoided Spencer for a week. He noticed. 

*****  
The trial wouldn’t begin for another year. Several months after the babies were born. They were glad of that. Shelley Walker had perished in the fire. They were also glad of that.

*****

Spencer visited Leta as much as he could. They never had much to say to each other. They had told each other everything about their lives when they were down in that dungeon. And now...now life was just trying to get out of bed everyday. Learning to walk long distances again. Learning how to eat food normally. Unlearning how to be a prisoner. 

Sometimes when he was over they would just sit next to each other in silence. One of his hands on her belly and his head on her shoulder. She liked that. She was now starting to get to know Spencer. She had been to his apartment and seen his things, talked to his team, she had even met his mother. Spencer Reid was a good man. Spencer Reid was surrounded by good people. She felt better about him. There would always be a small part of her that remembered those awful months. But the good had to outshine the bad now. Their babies were coming and they needed happiness and stability and love. She knew Spencer could help provide that. 

*****  
*****

Spencer woke up and let out a yawn. Something was different. He looked to his right and noticed she wasn’t in bed. He got up and walked down the periwinkle colored hallway. Not his first choice in paint colors but Leta convinced him it looked happy and airy. 

She was propped up against the wall in the living room with her eyes closed, breathing deeply. 

“Leta?” 

She breathed in deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked at him. 

“Is it…?”

“Yeah. I think it’s time. I’ve been having contractions for about an hour. They’re getting pretty close.” 

“Why didn’t you wake me??” 

She smiled “Thought i’d let you sleep late one last time.”

******

She clenched the hands of her husband and her mother, Sandra, as she used all her might to push. Taking deep breathes between pushes. 

“You’re doing great, Leta. You’re doing so well” Spencer cheered her on before kissing her forehead. 

“Oh sweetie, they’re almost here!” Her mother said excitedly. 

“Ok Leta one more push and baby one will be here” Her favorite nurse encouraged. 

Leta clamped down on their hands once more and pushed out her first baby. The cries of the baby was the sweetest sounds she had ever heard. Soon after the second baby came. 1 minute apart. Surely the twins would fight over that minute in the future, but for now. For now everything was perfect. Spencer’s face was covered in tears and full of love as he looked down on his brave and beautiful wife. The babies were wrapped up and placed on her chest. Two perfect little baby girls. Spencer had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. He kissed Leta’s forehead and stroked the babies small faces. Leta was at peace. It was going to be okay. Life would be okay now. 

Spencer and Leta now held their happiness and future in their arms... little Marina and Emma Reid.


End file.
